Learning Resources

Investigation 1: Number Systems & Focus A: Working With Imaginary Numbers

• Divide the exponent by two. The result will indicate the power to which i ² is raised. If the result is even, the answer will be 1, since you will be multiplying -1 by itself an even number of times. If the result is odd, the answer will be -1.
• If the exponent is not exactly divisible by two, determine the largest number of times that 2 will go into the exponent. If the result is even, the answer will be i. If the result is odd, the answer will be -i.